Does your home use a well as the primary source of potable water? As it turns out, private wells are more common than you may think. Over 43 million people in the United States live in a home that is supplied with untreated well water. But how often do you consider the quality of your water? Is the water you’re using good for your plumbing and appliances? Is it good for your health? What water contaminants are common in your area? If you aren’t sure or aren’t happy about the answers to those questions, you may have a well water issue on your hands. In this article, we will go over some general information about well water and the best options for treating problematic well water.
Who uses well water?
Well water is the primary source of potable water for many Americans, the majority of whom live in rural areas. Well water is common across the United States, but you may be surprised to find out that the region with the highest concentration of private wells is in the North East between Boston and Washington DC. The map below illustrates survey data collected by the USGS and shows the concentration of people using domestic supply wells in the United States.
How is well water different than city water?
All municipal water systems in the United States are required to treat their water to a certain standard of quality as established by the EPA. This treatment typically involves filtration, disinfection, and regular testing to ensure that the water is safe to drink. In contrast, private wells are not regulated by the federal government, leaving it up to the well owner to make sure the water is safe. The result of this is that most well water is under-treated, poor quality, rarely monitored, and potentially unsafe to drink. The USGS conducted a study of 2,100 private wells across the United States and found the following:
- 1 in 5 well water sources in the United States contained one or more contaminants found at a concentration greater than the human-health benchmark for drinking water.
- Man-made organic compounds (pesticides, solvents) were detected in 60% of wells tested.
- About half of the wells tested had at least one “nuisance” contaminant such as turbidity.
Considering these findings, it’s better to be safe than sorry if you drink from a well!
What can I do to improve the quality of my well water?
Thankfully, no matter the quality, there are options for treating your water. Antunes Water can help you find a solution that will bring you better tasting, cleaner, and healthier water.
If you have no idea what your water quality is, we recommend using our water sample analysis kit to find out exactly what’s in your water. The easy-to-use kit will allow the experts at Antunes Water to review your water results and quickly provide you with a custom water treatment recommendation.
If you do have an idea of what your water quality is like, Antunes Water has multiple options for treating your water.
The VZN line of whole home filtration systems are the premier treatment option for problematic well water. Over the years the VZN has proven its reliability and effectiveness, serving up excellent quality water anywhere from independent coffee houses to schools in impoverished areas of Asia. VZN systems utilize a self-cleaning ultrafilter that is NSF/ANSI certified for particulate reduction and will successfully filter your water for years. Click here to view our full line of VZN Ultrafiltration Systems.
It is much more likely for well water to have high hardness than surface water, and our water softener systems are the perfect solution for reducing the total hardness of your well water. Our softener systems are NSF/ANSI certified for hardness reduction and are ideal for use in line with a VZN system. Click here to view our Water Softener Systems.
If you want your water at home to be as pure and delicious as the bottled water you can buy at the store, then a reverse osmosis system is for you! Reverse osmosis (RO) systems can remove over 90% of the dissolved contaminants in your water, providing you with extremely high-quality water on demand. The Antunes Water reverse osmosis system is NSF/ANSI certified and comes in a compact package that fits conveniently under your sink. Click here to view our 5-stage Reverse Osmosis System.